WEBVTT 00:02.000 --> 00:05.033 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% JUDY WOODRUFF: And now to Afghanistan, where the U.S. presence is now 20 years old. 00:06.966 --> 00:09.533 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% Last year, the Trump administration signed a deal with the Taliban that 00:09.533 --> 00:14.533 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% would have the U.S. and NATO troops out of the country by May 1. Peace talks between 00:16.533 --> 00:20.233 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% the Taliban and the Afghan government are now stalled, and violence remains high. 00:22.700 --> 00:25.900 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80% As special correspondent Jane Ferguson and producer and cinematographer Emily Kassie tell us, 00:28.366 --> 00:32.233 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80% as part of a series of reports, however the Biden White House deals with America's longest war, 00:33.700 --> 00:37.566 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% one thing is sure. The Taliban think they have already won. 00:37.566 --> 00:42.533 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% JANE FERGUSON: Taliban fighters roam freely in the Tangi Valley, 00:44.000 --> 00:45.633 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% on the border between restive Logar and Wardak provinces. 00:47.666 --> 00:50.600 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% The winding roads are just a couple of hours' drive South from the Afghan capital, 00:50.600 --> 00:55.566 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% but this is Taliban territory and has been since the Americans left the valley years ago. 00:57.466 --> 01:01.066 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% Now these men anticipate the final phase of their departure across the country. 01:01.066 --> 01:06.066 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% MAWLAWI TAWQUL, Taliban Commander (through translator): 01:08.033 --> 01:10.833 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% The new president of America must take all his forces out of Afghanistan. He should respect 01:10.833 --> 01:15.833 align:left position:20% line:71% size:70% the agreement that has been made. If they don't leave, we are ready to carry on. The mujahideen 01:17.800 --> 01:20.666 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% is not tired of war. Joe Biden should take all their forces out and leave us in peace. 01:20.666 --> 01:25.300 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% JANE FERGUSON: It has been over a year since we last traveled into rural Afghanistan to meet 01:25.300 --> 01:30.300 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% with the Taliban. We came back to find out how the deal with the U.S. is playing out, 01:31.500 --> 01:33.600 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% after 20 years at war with America. 01:33.600 --> 01:37.833 align:left position:20% line:71% size:70% They came and met us. Now they're just leading us in this way. They actually greeted us with 01:39.833 --> 01:43.166 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% gunfire. That's to send a message to the area that the guests have arrived. 01:44.600 --> 01:47.900 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% Morale here is high. We found local commanders relaxed, 01:47.900 --> 01:52.866 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% jubilant even, and with a clear message for President Biden. 01:54.966 --> 01:57.733 align:left position:20% line:71% size:70% MAWLAWI TAWQUL (through translator): There is no difference overall between Trump and Biden. 01:57.733 --> 02:02.100 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% They are both Americans, and so we see them as infidels. Trump was trying to get something done 02:02.100 --> 02:07.100 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% quickly and get the forces out. Joe Biden has to do the same thing. He must respect the deal. 02:09.100 --> 02:12.333 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% JANE FERGUSON: That deal promises every last American and NATO soldier will be out 02:12.333 --> 02:17.333 align:left position:20% line:71% size:70% of Afghanistan by May 1, in exchange for the Taliban agreeing to break ties with al-Qaida 02:19.266 --> 02:23.133 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% and negotiate a peace deal with the Kabul government, led by President Ashraf Ghani. 02:23.133 --> 02:26.033 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% In reality, they have been peace talks only in name, 02:28.033 --> 02:31.133 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% with the Taliban increasing its attacks on government forces since signing with Trump's team 02:31.133 --> 02:35.866 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% one year ago. These men don't seem to be taking those negotiations seriously. 02:35.866 --> 02:40.266 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% MAWLAWI TAWQUL (through translator): We all know Ashraf Ghani and his whole government 02:40.266 --> 02:43.366 align:left position:20% line:77% size:70% were brought here by the Americans, and they follow the orders of the 02:43.366 --> 02:47.466 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% Americans. After the Americans leave, they cannot do anything. They cannot carry on. 02:48.666 --> 02:50.366 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% Our leaders have already said there will be no 02:50.366 --> 02:52.933 align:left position:20% line:77% size:70% more fighting, and they will bring an Islamic system of government. 02:52.933 --> 02:56.466 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% JANE FERGUSON: The Taliban insist on calling any future 02:56.466 --> 02:59.100 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% government of Afghanistan the Islamic Emirate, 02:59.100 --> 03:04.066 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% the same name as the regime they led here in the late 1990s, before being toppled by the U.S. 03:06.633 --> 03:09.166 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80% after 9/11. These men see their leaders as ready to simply take over, with no room for compromise. 03:11.166 --> 03:15.066 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% MAWLAWI TAWQUL (through translator): The rest of the world should treat us 03:15.066 --> 03:18.500 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% as a government. The emirate is alive now, but once it comes to full power, 03:18.500 --> 03:22.733 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% everyone will accept and respect it. They will treat us the same as any other country. 03:22.733 --> 03:26.833 align:left position:20% line:77% size:70% JANE FERGUSON: Taliban leadership says it wants Ghani to step down, 03:26.833 --> 03:31.133 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% but he and his vice president have vowed to continue to the end of his term. 03:31.133 --> 03:32.833 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% Would you support that if it meant peace? 03:32.833 --> 03:33.333 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% AMRULLAH SALEH, Afghani First Vice President: No, no. 03:34.800 --> 03:38.866 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% The only thing I support will be an election. I prefer to... 03:40.000 --> 03:42.066 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% JANE FERGUSON: Well, that would be... 03:42.066 --> 03:45.833 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% AMRULLAH SALEH: I prefer to die with 100 bullets in my chest, but not compromise 03:48.333 --> 03:51.433 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% the value of elections. That's why we fought. 03:51.433 --> 03:56.133 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% JANE FERGUSON: Not everyone in the Kabul government can agree on this issue. 03:56.133 --> 04:00.600 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% Dr. Abdullah Abdulllah, who served until last March as Afghan chief executive, 04:00.600 --> 04:03.933 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% below Ghani, oversees the negotiations for the government. 04:03.933 --> 04:07.933 align:left position:20% line:77% size:70% He ran against Ghani in two highly contested presidential elections. 04:07.933 --> 04:11.633 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% ABDULLAH ABDULLAH, Former Afghan Chief Executive: Finishing term shouldn't be a priority if it is 04:11.633 --> 04:16.633 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% balanced against peace, durable, dignified peace, acceptable for the people of Afghanistan. 04:21.066 --> 04:26.066 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% And I am sure, while President Ghani today has responsibilities as the president of 04:27.766 --> 04:31.466 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% the government to perform, lead the government and the state, 04:32.666 --> 04:36.333 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% at the same time, if he sees there is a solution 04:36.333 --> 04:41.333 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80% that is acceptable for the people of Afghanistan, finishing the term might not be a priority. 04:43.300 --> 04:46.433 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% JANE FERGUSON: There is growing concern that the Taliban have no interest in peace at all, 04:46.433 --> 04:51.300 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% that they may be simply going through the motions to help America save face as it departs, 04:51.300 --> 04:54.900 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% and could still decide they can topple the government when the U.S. leaves. 04:54.900 --> 04:59.900 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80% ABDULLAH ABDULLAH: My biggest concerns will be that, if Taliban calculation, or calculus, 05:02.500 --> 05:06.300 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80% is based on the fact that, OK, we participate in the negotiations, without making compromise, and 05:10.566 --> 05:15.566 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% continue the talks, get the rest of our prisoners released, and then, by such a time, the 05:18.100 --> 05:22.566 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80% time for the presence of the U.S. troops will expire, according to the agreement that they have. 05:22.566 --> 05:25.633 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% And then, beyond that, then they will have the 05:25.633 --> 05:28.566 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% upper hand militarily, and then they will do whatever they want. 05:28.566 --> 05:33.233 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% JANE FERGUSON: President Biden has inherited not only America's longest ever war, 05:33.233 --> 05:38.233 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% one it has largely lost, but also a peace deal of President Trump's making. 05:40.300 --> 05:43.333 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% It offers little beyond promises that the Taliban will not allow al-Qaida once more to find safe 05:45.366 --> 05:49.266 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% haven in Afghanistan. That's a promise the Pentagon says they are already breaking. 05:50.333 --> 05:52.366 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% Biden Pentagon spokesman John Kirby: 05:52.366 --> 05:54.900 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% JOHN KIRBY, Pentagon Press Secretary: Without them meeting their commitments to 05:54.900 --> 05:59.266 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80% renounce terrorism and to stop the violent attacks on the Afghan national security forces and, 06:03.233 --> 06:06.500 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% by dint of that, the Afghan people, it's very hard to see 06:09.066 --> 06:11.633 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% a specific way forward for the negotiated settlement. 06:11.633 --> 06:14.233 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% JANE FERGUSON: If they don't honor the settlement to leave, 06:14.233 --> 06:19.033 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80% the Taliban have vowed to continue to fight, and the Afghan security forces would struggle to hold 06:21.000 --> 06:24.366 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% onto cities without American air support, drawing the U.S. further back into the war. 06:25.866 --> 06:28.566 align:left position:20% line:77% size:70% QARI KHALED, Taliban Commander (through translator): Absolutely, 06:28.566 --> 06:33.566 align:left position:20% line:71% size:70% if the agreement is not implemented, we will await the orders from our seniors to fight. 06:35.466 --> 06:38.666 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% MAWLAWI TAWQUL (through translator): We are not tired. The mujahideen don't get tired. 06:38.666 --> 06:40.833 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% Remember, Trump himself said something like, 06:40.833 --> 06:43.300 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% these fighters are going to war like it's a football match. 06:43.300 --> 06:48.300 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% JANE FERGUSON: While these power plays continue and all sides jostle for their own interests, 06:50.733 --> 06:53.666 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80% ordinary Afghans are desperately hoping for peace. There are few places as war-weary and ravaged as 06:55.666 --> 07:00.433 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% Afghanistan. The conflict these people have experienced, 42 brutal years of bloodshed, 07:02.866 --> 07:06.633 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80% through Soviet invasion, civil war, and American invasion, dwarfs even America's longest ever war. 07:08.633 --> 07:13.100 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% It has robbed generations of their loved ones and made poverty an enduring curse. 07:15.533 --> 07:18.366 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80% As you walk around these Taliban-controlled villages and really rural areas of Afghanistan, 07:20.400 --> 07:24.866 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% it is striking to think of how many billions of dollars of aid money has been poured into 07:26.433 --> 07:30.033 align:left position:20% line:77% size:70% this country, and how little of it made it into villages like this. 07:30.033 --> 07:35.033 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% In one village we met Salim, our Taliban minders waiting outside while we, two women, 07:36.500 --> 07:39.133 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% were permitted entry. He told us he worked his whole life in the 07:39.133 --> 07:41.866 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% Persian Gulf city of Abu Dhabi to afford to build this house. 07:43.866 --> 07:47.066 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% Now he stands in front of it, pleading with us, rare foreign visitors, for peace. 07:47.066 --> 07:51.233 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% SALIM, Afghanistan (through translator): 07:51.233 --> 07:56.033 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% Mr. Joe Biden, we want the war to be over and the Americans to leave from here. 07:56.033 --> 07:59.233 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% America is good, but they need to go back to America. 07:59.233 --> 08:04.166 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% JANE FERGUSON: I asked him in Arabic what he wants for his family's future. 08:04.166 --> 08:08.666 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% SALIM (through translator): School. 08:11.633 --> 08:15.933 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% This is my daughter. And this is my daughter. I want them to go to school. 08:15.933 --> 08:20.833 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% JANE FERGUSON: But the Afghanistan his daughters inherit may not meet his hopes. 08:20.833 --> 08:25.066 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% The Taliban have recently made overtures about respecting women's rights, 08:25.066 --> 08:29.533 align:left position:20% line:71% size:70% conscious of their infamy for the appalling repression of women when they ruled this country. 08:31.500 --> 08:34.133 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% But in these areas, it seems clear that little has changed in their attitudes. 08:34.133 --> 08:39.100 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80% MAWLAWI TAWQUL (through translator): The current situation with women in Kabul is bad. We will not 08:41.033 --> 08:44.433 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% accept this. We will only permit them to have whatever rights are specified in the Koran. 08:44.433 --> 08:49.433 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80% JANE FERGUSON: We saw no women in the street anywhere in Taliban-controlled areas, and the few 08:51.966 --> 08:54.933 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80% we saw at all, in the local health clinic, were being carefully watched. We weren't permitted to 08:56.866 --> 09:00.333 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% talk to them on camera. Getting insight into their lives remains frustratingly difficult. 09:02.366 --> 09:06.533 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% Meanwhile, in a nearby bazaar, men jostle to talk with us, crowding around. There is much 09:08.500 --> 09:12.533 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% discussion as to whether the wider regional rivalries will spoil this moment of potential. 09:13.466 --> 09:14.566 align:left position:30% line:83% size:60% Do you feel like peace is coming? 09:14.566 --> 09:16.333 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70% MAN: Yes, yes. Maybe. 09:16.333 --> 09:17.766 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70% JANE FERGUSON: Maybe? 09:17.766 --> 09:22.766 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% MAN: Yes, but I'm not absolutely certain. 09:24.666 --> 09:28.333 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% JANE FERGUSON: What do -- what is the danger for peace? What do you worry about? 09:30.333 --> 09:35.066 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% MAN: Especially Pakistan don't want peace in our country, Afghanistan, some -- and other 09:37.000 --> 09:41.333 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% countries like Iran, Russia, and they don't want to come peace in our country. 09:42.666 --> 09:43.900 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% JANE FERGUSON: So, the problem is outside countries? 09:43.900 --> 09:46.500 align:left position:30% line:89% size:60% MAN: Yes. 09:46.500 --> 09:49.266 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80% JANE FERGUSON: As the Talibs gather to eat lunch and discuss the news of the day, reports in the 09:51.333 --> 09:54.633 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% form of voice-mails come in on the phone, this one apparently from a commander in Kabul City 09:57.133 --> 10:01.700 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% dismissing the vice president's new policy of increasing security cameras in the capital. 10:03.800 --> 10:07.266 align:left position:20% line:71% size:70% There is a feeling here amongst the fighters not of coming compromise and serious negotiations, 10:08.900 --> 10:11.466 align:left position:20% line:77% size:70% but one of triumph, of the spoils of victory surely to come soon. 10:13.500 --> 10:17.266 align:left position:20% line:71% size:70% This attitude is in part informed by that Trump agreement, in many ways a win-win for them. 10:19.233 --> 10:23.066 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% President Biden's next move on that deal will impact the people of this country 10:23.066 --> 10:28.066 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% for a generation to come. With a delicate balancing act of pressure and diplomacy, 10:30.100 --> 10:33.100 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% he will have the fate of tens of millions of Afghans in his hands in the coming critical weeks. 10:35.133 --> 10:39.433 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% For the "PBS NewsHour," I'm Jane Ferguson in the Tangi Valley, Afghanistan. 10:41.433 --> 10:44.766 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% JUDY WOODRUFF: And, tomorrow night, Jane looks into a terrifying and methodical 10:46.666 --> 10:50.933 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% campaign of assassinations in Kabul, the Afghan capital, targeting politicians, 10:52.633 --> 10:57.100 align:left position:20% line:77% size:70% civil society and the public that has shaken the city to its core.